Sfmf was conceived and founded in 2002 by Bay Area performing artists and teachers, Catherine & Anthony Angelo, “The Angelo Piano Duo.” Alumni of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the Angelo Duo has performed in California, the Pacific North West, Australia, England, Italy, Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic States. Influenced by their experiences performing at international piano duo festivals in Europe and Russia, the Sfmf founders’ vision is to establish a San Francisco-based international festival that will capture the spirit of these overseas festivals and highlight the seldom-heard piano duo genre.  Sfmf was formally launched as a non-profit 501 (c) 3 organization in 2003 with an 8-member board of directors and support from The Ross McKee Foundation and community support of many individual donors.  Sfmf has been fortunate to also have in-kind corporate support from the JB Piano Company in San Rafael and the Grotrian Piano Company in Germany with sponsorship of the new Duo Grand piano for Sfmf concerts.

Presented by the San Francisco International Music Festival organization, the first international piano duo festival in the United States honored the legacy of the distinguished piano duo, Milton and Peggy Salkind. The Salkinds enriched the four-hand literature by commissioning works from eleven American composers. As graduates of The Julliard School, the Salkind Duo performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Appointed president of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in 1966, Milton Salkind guided the Conservatory for twenty-four years through its first great period of expansion. Peggy Salkind recently retired from the Conservatory after thirty-eight years of teaching piano and fifteen years as chair of the piano department.

The paramount goal for the international piano duo festivals is to elevate the stature of the under-appreciated piano duo genre (two pianos and one piano four hands) in the United States, which will be accomplished through performance, education, and audience development. In addition to public performances by international chamber musicians, educational links between artists and young musicians will be established at an annual Junior Festival. Bringing young people together with international artists offers significant educational benefits by providing opportunities for young musicians to discover other cultures through creative interaction with artists from different countries, and each other. This experience will promote an important artistic link between generations.

2nd Milton & Peggy Salkind
International Piano Duo Festival

July 5 - 7, 2008

San Francisco Conservatory of Music
50 Oak Street, San Francisco

Presented and sponsored by The San Francisco International Music Festival organization, The 2nd Salkind International Piano Duo Festival will showcase an exciting slate of distinguished piano duos from Latvia, Armenia, Italy, Japan, Australia and the United States. The international duos include: The Riga Piano Duo from Latvia and Armenia, Duo Pianistico di Firenze from Italy, and Noriko &Yuko Kugimoto Piano Duo from Japan. The American Duos include The Peery Piano Duo, Pas de Duo, and The Angelo Piano Duo from Australia and the United States. The 2008 Salkind Festival will present a series of five concerts featuring an eclectic mix of traditional and innovative compositions for piano duo and also highlight a variety of seldom-heard ensemble works for piano duo with other instruments and voices.

Past Events 2008

2008 Young Artists Piano Duo Concert
January 13, 2008
Recital Hall,
San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Past Events 2007

2007 Premiere Festival
Milton & Peggy Salkind
International Piano Duo Festival

Last July, the first Salkind Festival brought some of the most outstanding professional piano duos to the new Civic Center location of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. The world-class concert hall at the Conservatory was home to four professional concerts highlighting great works for two pianos as well as for piano duets (one piano, four hands). The final concert was held at the Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, a charming and intimate setting for the closing concert of the Festival.

Eight prominent duos performed concerts and conducted master classes and private coaching sessions for young pianists. The Salkind Piano Duo Festival also showcased a one-of-a-kind instrument specifically designed for the piano duo genre by the Grotrian Piano Company of Braunschwieg, Germany: The Grotrian Duo Grand piano. In both locations, festival audiences were enthusiastic in their appreciation for the variety of performances and for the opportunity to hear and see an art form that, while prominent in Europe and Asia, is under-appreciated in this country.

Sfmf Young Artists Concert
April 1, 2007
Herzo Recital Hall
Notre Dame de Namur, Burlingame

The third Sfmf Young Artists showcased 8 talented Bay Area piano duos in grades 6-12 performing works of Gurlitt, Poulenc, Brahms, Rocherolle, Gavrilin, Piazzolla, Rachmaninoff, and Gershwin. Young Artists included: Amy Tsang & Lynn Chui, Josh Kunstler & Jason Byer, Nathaniel Rothrock & Tristan Sansbury, Paul Ferrell & Christine Robinson, Catherine Lowell & Anna Hauswirth, Audrey Vardanega & Joshua Hess, Cherise Lau & Leslie Chang, and The Kepska Piano Duo.

Past Events 2006

Sfmf Young Artists Concert
November 14, 2006
The Crowden Music Center, Berkeley

The Fall Concert showcased 11 talented Bay Area piano duos in grades 6-12 performing works of Reinecke, Brahms, Debussy, Grieg, Prokofiev, Barber, Gavrilin, Dvorak, Comptom, Shostakovich, Lutoslawski and Bay Area composer Sondra Clark. Young Artists included: Yvette & Therese To, Chantal Chan & Ariel Jacobi, Franz Zhao & Benjamin Kleinerman, Chloe Roddy & Regina Ngo, Annika Holmlund & Audrey Vardanega, Henry Burman & Joshua Hess, Paul Ferrell & Christine Robinson, Catherine Lowell & Anna Hauswirth, Monika Bik & Kelsey Etheredge, Mayumi & Rieko Tsuchida, and The Kepska Piano Duo.

Duo Grand Piano Concert
Friday, May 12, 7:30 p.m. 2006
Kanbar Hall, SF Jewish Community Center

This concert showcased four piano duos from Bulgaria, Cuba, Japan, and the United States performing works by Rachmaninoff, Gottschalk, Ravel, Mozart, Kurka, and original works by the Whipple & Morale Duo. Artists included: Pas De Duo, The Tosheff Piano Duo, Kirk Whipple & Marilyn Morales Duo, and a dynamic young duo, Mayumi & Rieko Tsuchida, from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music Preparatory Division.

Sfmf Young Artists Concert
April 6, 2006
The JB Piano Company
514 Irwin Street, San Rafael

The first Sfmf Young Artists Concert showcased 8 talented Bay Area piano duos in grades 6-12 performing on the Grotian Duo Grand piano. Young Artists included: Bo Yan Moran & Chloe Roddy Duo, Emily Chang & Joey Hauswirth Duo, Anne Emanuels & Laura Gullett Duo, Anna & Joey Hauswirth Duo, Mayumi & Rieko Tsuchida Duo, Catherine Lowell & Anna Hauswirth Duo, Chang & Pugash Piano Duo, and The Kepska Piano Duo.

Past Events 2005

Inaugural Concert
Friday, March 4, 7:30 p.m. 2005
Kanbar Hall, SF Jewish Community Center

The Benefit Concert showcased the Grotrian Duo Grand piano with performances by Daniel Glover and Thomas Hansen Duo, The Angelo Piano Duo, Annamarie & John McCarthy Piano Duo, and young artists, Catherine & Elizabeth Lowell Piano Duo.

Grotrian Duo Grand Piano

Allen Klein Photography Duo Grand Soundboard bridge

Concert at JB Piano Company

Sunday, July 6:
2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Salkind Young Performers’ Concert
The program will showcase a selection of young artists from the Salkind Junior Festival.

Monday, July 7:
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Concert for Kids - Outreach Concert
Featuring selected young piano duo teams
from the Salkind Junior Festival.

2007 Salkind Junior Festival
The 2007 Salkind Junior Festival showcased nine talented young piano duos from around the Bay Area in a series of two concerts and several master-classes with the visiting artists and Bay Area composer, Dr. Sondra Clark.

2007 Salkind Young Performers’ Concerts
Concert for Kids
Friday, July 6, 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
Concert Hall, SFCM
Sunday, July 8, 3:00 p.m.
Concert Hall, SFCM